Teen's killing shakes up Hemet community

The stabbing death of a teenage boy has highlighted what Hemet residents say is a rise in crime in their community.

Eric Sargeant Jr. was a few steps away from a friend's home in Hemet on Monday when he was brutally attacked.

The 16-year-old boy's mother, Melissa Lansing, said three young men came up to him in the afternoon at the corner of Acacia Avenue and Cherrywood Drive and demanded his cellphone. When Sargeant refused, they began to stab him.

Sergeant was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he later died in surgery.